GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Bombardier is prepared to take Messier-Dowty to court if the two companies fail to reach an agreement on covering the $35 million cost of retrofitting 815 CRJ100/200s and Challenger 800s with new main landing-gear fittings to overcome cracking. Although it expects to reach an agreement with the landing-gear supplier soon, Bombardier says it has filed a motion to initiate proceedings against Messier-Dowty "to protect its legal rights".
Beginning in June 1998, fatigue cracks were discovered in the landing-gear main fittings of three CRJs operated by Austria's Lauda Air. In one incident, in November 1999, the right main gear broke off after touchdown. As a result, 392 aircraft were retrofitted with new parts with a thicker barrel, but Bombardier says two further incidents in 2002 indicate the design is still deficient.
Bombardier says Messier-Dowty has designed a new fitting, which is expected to be certificated later this year. The affected fleet will be retrofitted over the next five years, the company says. This will terminate an airworthiness directive that requires operators to perform repetitive eddy-current inspections of the landing-gear fittings. Bombardier's Quebec Superior Court filing alleges Messier-Dowty has refused to cover the hardware-only replacement cost associated with the retrofit, estimated at almost $35 million.
Source: Flight International
